A Hard Soul to Reach
by Eijan Eis
Summary: Follow Amelia as she lives in the new town of New Bark being used to the big city. She meets Ethan and becomes fast friends, however Soul seems cold to everyone. Trying to face her own fears Amelia finds comfort in the two boys that are opposites, but Soul has secrets of his own and one of them is trying to take him away from the small quiet town. Updates on Mondays
1. Moving

Amelia stayed quiet while her mom drove the car; they were moving to Littleroot Town, a place that was different from what Amelia was used too. She wasn't looking forward to moving, she already missed being in the cities but her parents insisted that they moved to Littleroot. Her father was Prof. Elm who was a pokemon researcher, and he wanted Amelia and her mom to live closer to him so he was able to spend more time with them.

"Moving out in the country will be good for your health too, remember what happened back in Goldenrod?" her mother said to her. Though Amelia missed the city, it was terrible on her health. She has had asthma since she was a child and the doctors have seen her often while she was growing up if she had an asthma attack.

"I know mom, but what if no one likes me here?" Amelia sighed and felt small in the car, she held onto her bag tightly.

"I'm sure you'll make friends besides a lot of the kids at the school have their own pokemon…maybe someone will convince you to get your own?" her mom suggested. Amelia shook her head,

"No thanks…just because I'm fifteen don't mean I need a pokemon, they still freak me out". Amelia's mom looked at her daughter but said nothing else, not wanting to upset Amelia she sighed and continued to drive to their new home.

"How was the drive?" Prof. Elm greeted his wife and daughter as they arrived in Littleroot town

"The drive was fine, did the movers get here ok?" she asked him. Prof. Elm nodded and smiled,

"yep they are at the house right now, Amelia I want you to meet someone will you come with me?" Amelia nodded and followed her father into his lab. The other researchers greeted them when they walked by them while they worked.

"dad, who are we meeting?" Amelia asked with curiosity

"He helps me with my pokemon research, and he also attends the school where you will be going so I figured you two should meet. He can help you on your first day tomorrow" Prof. Elm said to her cheerfully.

A boy with a black pants a red jacket and a yellow hat he sported wearing backwords was sitting on a table he looked up and smiled as Prof. Elm and Amelia walked up to him. "Hey! I'm Ethan, you must be the professor's daughter Amelia?" he asked as he looked at her.

"Why else would a girl my age that looks like him be walking right next to him" she said back to Ethan.

"Now Amelia be nice to Ethan, he said he will help you on your first day at the new school tomorrow" her father frowned at his daughter.

Amelia stayed quiet, "sorry dad…."

Ethan shrugged his shoulders and smiled, "hey don't worry about it Proffessor. Do you want me to show you around town Amelia?"

"Sure I guess," Amelia looked at her father, "I'll see you at home later, I have to get a few things done here first before I leave" he said to her.

The two teenagers left the lab with Ethan doing most of the talking, while Amelia asked simple questions but mostly kept quiet and listened.

"You don't seem to like it out here, different then the big city?" Ethan asked her they were sitting under a tree on top of a small hill, the town could be seen from on top of the hill

Amelia nodded, "it's a change, but I know my parents are happy to be able to spend more time together. When me and my mom lived in Goldenrod my dad could only visit on the weekends, but living here it will be nice seeing him every day. I'm just worried about the school and not making any friends"

Ethan laughed lightly, "You already have me as a friend, so don't worry about school tomorrow ok? I'll help you out if you get lost". Amelia smiled at Ethan, hanging out with him perked her mood up since arriving in Littleroot town and she was thankful for it.

"Who is that?" Amelia noticed someone in the distance; it was a boy with red hair.

"Oh, that's just Soul, he isn't much of a people person. We grew up together, he lives with his aunt and my mom is friends with her so he kind of has to deal with me" Ethan explained with a smirk.

Soul walked over to the two of them, "Ethan you owe me money from yesterday" Soul said to the boy, ignoring Amelia.

"Well hello to you to Soul, aren't you going to say hi to Amelia? She just moved here from Goldenrod city" Ethan said. Soul glanced at Amelia but said nothing to her,

"I don't care who she is Ethan just pay me back from yesterday, you owe me for lunch".

Amelia almost wanted to say something to the red haired boy but didn't, she didn't have any words to say. Ethan rolled his eyes and took his wallet out and gave Soul the money, "honestly why do you have to be such a jerk Soul?"

Soul counted the money, "stop you're complaining Ethan, if my aunt wasn't friends with your mom I wouldn't even talk to you. See you at school tomorrow" and with that he left without a word to Amelia.

"What's his problem?" Amelia asked right away as soon as Soul was out of ear shot.

"I really don't know he has been like that since we were kids. I think it has something to do with his dad but he won't ever talk to me about it. I'm his only friend whether he wants to admit it or not since everyone else at school can't stand him because of how he treats people and his attitude is terrible" Ethan explained.

Amelia didn't say anything and listened to Ethan, "I hope he isn't in any of my classes tomorrow"

"He is a straight A student, he takes the harder classes so I doubt he will be in any of your classes" Ethan reassured her.

"Are you a straight A student?" Amelia asked Ethan.

"What me? Well not really" Ethan said and laughed, and Amelia laughed with him.

"So are you feeling any better about living in the little town of Littleroot?" Ethan asked her.

Amelia nodded, "yea, it's not that bad actually now that I actually see it instead of just over thinking about it".

"So since Prof. Elm is your dad do you have your own pokemon?" Ethan asked her suddenly.

"Umm, no I don't have my own pokemon yet…" Amelia told him though she didn't want to say anything to him.

"How come? I have one but he is at home right now, he gets pretty spirited sometimes" Ethan said.

Amelia wasn't sure what to tell Ethan, she didn't want to tell him the truth of why she didn't have a pokemon of her own, "I guess my dad hasn't found the right one to give me…"

Ethan noticed that the conversation made Amelia uncomfortable so he didn't say anything more about it.

Amelia looked at him, "we should probably head back, don't want to keep my parents waiting I'm sure my parents are waiting for me".

"Yea, let's get going you got a long day tomorrow with school" Ethan smirked again showing that he was being playful. Amelia smiled, since the first time arriving in Littleroot she felt alone and scared. But now she felt more confident, Ethan said he was her friend. Maybe this town wasn't so terrible after all.

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 **Well, I was able to write this a lot easier then the other story I posted...which I deleted BUT this one I don't want to delete**

 **Reviews are welcomed, I'm new to the site so I'm trying to follow the guidelines as much as I can**

 **As always I do not own Pokemon only certain characters that I create (ex; Amelia)**

 **Thanks everyone who takes the time to read!**


	2. First Day

**Thank you to PhantomGalaxy for taking the time to review the first chapter**

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Amelia stood in front of her bedroom mirror; she frowned and threw her clothes on the bed feeling frustrated. Her mom told her to wear something nice on her first day at the new school, but she could care less what she would wear and she didn't have any dresses or skirts to wear to school. Amelia had an hourglass figure, so she tried to wear clothes that were comfortable and that led to wearing jeans and regular shirts. She mostly looked like her mom with short black hair and hazel eyes. Though only thing she resembled her father was that Amelia wore red glasses.

"Amelia! You're going to be late!" she heard her mother call from downstairs.

Amelia grumbled and chose a pair of jeans and white button down shirt, she knew her mother would say she looked like a boy but today Amelia didn't care. She grabbed her bag and went downstairs for breakfast,

"You look like a boy;" her mother frowned "couldn't find anything else to wear?"

"No, but these are comfortable mom" Amelia started picking at her food "where's dad?"

"Oh he ran off this morning, something about more field work"

Amelia sighed, she was hoping that she could see her father before she had to go to school but he seemed busy as ever with work. She also wasn't very hungry and hardly ate anything while they say at the dinner table, while noticing that there were empty boxes by the door it seemed that her mom was busy getting everything unpacked while she hasn't even started in her own room. A knock was heard from the door and Amelia hoped that her father returned early from his work, she got up eagerly to open the door but standing there was Ethan.

"Hi Ethan" Amelia greeted quietly

"Figured we could walk to school together, unless you're thinking about playing sick on your first day" Ethan smiled.

Amelia smiled, "I'll see you after school mom"

The two friends left together, Ethan as usual kept up with the talking and told Amelia about the classes that she would most likely be in. From what he was explaining to her, the school taught the same classes as the one in the cities. Teaching kids basic math, English, science, and pokemon. One thing that Ethan said was that most of the students bring their first Pokémon with or a 'starter as Ethan put it.

"But I don't have a pokemon Ethan" Amelia told him

"Don't worry about it, once you get to there just talk to the staff in the office. You don't have to have one, the teachers just think it's a good way to learn and bond with your starter if you bring them to school" Ethan explained.

Suddenly Ethan's pokeball lit up and out came a little pokemon with fire on its back. Amelia could tell that this was Ethan's starter, and must of heard them talking.

"Well, this is Cyndaquil and he is my buddy and partner" Ethan smiled and put his little fire friend on his shoulder.

"Oh he's a fire type then?" Amelia asked him

Ethan nodded, "yup, this little guy goes everywhere with me most of the time; except yesterday when I was showing you around".

Cyndaquil tried to reach for Amelia but she flinched away quickly, the little fire pokemon looked at her oddly but left her alone and stayed on Ethan's shoulder.

The two passed several other kids walking to school, some riding bikes and while passing them Amelia noticed that almost all of them had their own pokemon following them or being carried by their trainers. The only ones that didn't were the very young kids who were in preschool who were being walked with by older siblings. Amelia hoped that Ethan was right and that she didn't have to have catch her own, she simply didn't want one.

"Hey I see Soul," Ethan started walking at a quicker pace with Amelia groaning as she followed him. The last time she saw Soul he pretended that she didn't exist and she didn't feel like dealing with his attitude on a day like today. Soul had a blue pokemon following him, and noticed Ethan first before his trainer did.

"Hey you ready for another day bud?" Ethan asked him

"I'm not your bud, and it's just another day Ethan nothing special" Soul responded.

Ethan rolled his eyes, "it's Amelia's first day, and can't you be a little nice?"

Soul glanced at Amelia, "you look like a boy dressed like that, and where is your pokemon? You should have one by now since your fifteen and Professor Elm is your dad can't he just give you one or something"

Amelia glared at him, "at least I'm not some stuck up jerk like you, and not everyone has a pokemon Soul!" Amelia started running towards the school getting ahead of the two boys.

Ethan sighed, "Now look what you did, you made her upset"

"She'll get over it after class Ethan, let's go Totodile if we don't hurry we will be late" Soul quickened his pace while Ethan followed.

Amelia tried to forget what Soul said while she sat in the main office of Littleroot School, she was waiting for the secretary to give her her class list and locker number. But something in his voice just made her agitated; he tried to sound like he knew everything and couldn't say one nice thing to anyone and not even to Ethan. Amelia was given her locker number and class list, the secretary told her to find her locker first then go to which ever class was next depending on the time.

While she walked the hallway Amelia's thoughts went back to what Soul had said to her. In the past people have told her she dressed as a boy but normally she wouldn't let it bother her, the way Soul said it made her want to go home and hide in her room. She wasn't sure why she felt like this but she hoped that the feeling would pass as she went to go look for her locker and class.

Once Amelia found her locker she set out finding her next class, which was the Study of Pokemon Types. She sighed, and went wondering around the halls looking for the classroom, luckily she found it just as the bell rang and the students started pouring out of the other classrooms and filling the hallways.

Amelia sat down and watched as other students came into the room, she hoped to see Ethan come in at least then she would know one person in the class. But to her disappointment her friend wasn't in this class, but one person she did know came in the room and he had the red hair.

Soul sat next to Amelia but didn't say anything to her, his pokemon Totodile though gave her a small wave before he sat on his trainers' lap.

The teacher began by wanting Amelia to introduce herself to everyone, which meant standing in front of the whole class.

"My name is Amelia Elm, and I just moved her from Goldenrod City with my mom" she managed to say. One of the students spoke, "so your dad is Professor Elm right? Then why don't you have a pokemon with you?"

"I just don't have one" Amelia shrugged and started walking back to her desk

"But how can you be a trainer if you don't have one?"

"What kind of trainer are you then?"

One after another the other students asked her questions about her not having a pokemon, Amelia didn't know what to say to all of them since they were all speaking at once. The teacher tried to get them to calm down but to no avail.

"Leave her alone everyone!" a voice rattled the room and everyone was quiet, the voice it belonged to was Soul. Amelia looked at him surprised, didn't think he would be the one to get everyone to be quiet.

"Just leave her alone, if she doesn't have or want a pokemon that's no one's business" he said out loud, his partner Totodile was standing on his desk glaring at all the other pokemon in the room.

Then he sat down and said nothing else, which gave Amelia a chance to sit in her own desk and glance in his direction. She wanted to say her thanks, but the teacher started the lesson so Amelia decided to wait until after school was over for the day.

The rest of the day went by quickly, Amelia discovered that from her classes that Ethan was in two of them and Soul was in the other three.

Ethan and Amelia were walking home, when she told him what happened in her class with Soul.

"After you ran off this morning I lectured him how he needs to stop being such a jerk, I think he felt a little bad after I was done" Ethan told her.

Amelia thought for a moment, "Do you know where he is now Ethan?"

"He's probably home now, he takes a different route home then he does in the morning" Ethan told her

"Why does he do that?" Amelia asked him

Ethan shrugged, "I'm not sure, he just likes it that way. We walk to school together but then after he just goes off on his own"

Not much else was said about Soul as the two walked home, Amelia still wanted to thank him for speaking up for her in class but since she didn't know where he was she would have to wait until morning.

Amelia got home with her parents both in the kitchen waiting for her to tell her about the first day. Her father listened while she explained what happened when the students were questioning her about not having a pokemon.

"Lia, are you sure you don't want one? I'm sure I can find one that will be perfect for you" her father asked her with concern he called her Lia short for Amelia, it was a nickname that only he would call her.

"No I don't want one, not after what happened…" she muttered.

"Why don't you tell Ethan the reason you don't want one?" her mother asked her

Amelia shook her head, "I'm not ready to tell anyone else, I'll be ok mom don't worry"

The family had dinner while Professor Elm spoke about his field work this morning when he missed Amelia before she went to school. Though his wife and daughter just smiled and listened they knew that he enjoyed what he did for work.

After dinner Amelia excused herself and went upstairs in her room, she changed into her nightclothes and lay down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She could feel her eyelids growing heavy with sleep, she hoped that tomorrow would be a better day and that she could thank Soul for what he did for her.

* * *

 **Well, hope this chapter went ok for anyone that reads, no matter what I want to keep this story going**

 **I want to finish it since I always have a hard time finishing anything that I write**

 **anyways reviews and suggestions welcome**


	3. Facing your Fears

**So here is the deal I've been typing the wrong town that Amelia, Soul and Ethan are living in. They live in New Bark Town...not Littleroot that was a oops on my part. So thankfully I caught my mistake before posting too many chapters.**

 **Enjoy!**

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Amelia's weeks soon turned into a routine when going to school, she was able to thank Soul on how he spoke up for her the other day but all she received in response was a nod from the red haired boy.

Amelia was still curious on where he went after school was over for the day, and once she asked him about it but he glared at her and said it was none of her business of what he did with his time.

While Ethan tried more than once to get Amelia to hold or pet Cyndaquill but she still would flinch away from the little fire pokemon, and after several attempts Ethan stopped and would give her a worried look.

During the weekends that there was no school, Amelia spent most of her time with Ethan and even Soul when Ethan would drag him out of his house.

"You know one of these days you're going to face a pokemon Amelia" Ethan told her while the three of them ate lunch. "That's just how it is, I mean they live on this planet too so you will just have to learn from them and get passed whatever it is that scares you"

Amelia said nothing though she knew a part of her agreed with him, she glanced at Soul but he also nodded slightly showing that Ethan was right.

Ethan stood up and stretched his arms up, "well, I should get going" he picked up his bag and Cyndaquil hopped on his shoulder. "I promised your dad I would help him today doing some field work, you going to be ok?" he asked Amelia.

She nodded, "yea I'll be fine, tell my dad I said hi and make sure he eats some lunch, he forgets to do that sometimes when he is working" Ethan smiled and left, leaving Amelia and Soul on top of the hill.

The two didn't say anything to each other for a while; Amelia looked over the town from sitting on top of the hill quietly.

"Come with me, I want to show you something" Soul said suddenly and stood up and waited for Amelia to follow him.

She was surprised and curious, what was he going to show her?

The two walked for several minutes and followed a path in a wooded area, Amelia stayed close behind Soul so not to get lost since she had never been in this part of New Bark Town before. A pond came into view and Soul stopped at the edge of it, Amelia standing right next to him.

"This is where I go after school, I'll walk here and let Totodile swim in the pond" Soul explained.

"But why are you showing me this?" Amelia asked him

He shrugged, "whatever happened to you that made you afraid of pokemon don't let it drag you down, I come here to relax and to clear my mind, I also like to watch all of the wild pokemon that come to this pond" he sat down in the grass while his partner Totodile went in the pond.

The mention of wild pokemon, made Amelia tense but she sat next to Soul and tried to relax. He was right though; being near the pond was peaceful and also quiet something that she never experienced while living in the city.

"So what happened to you that made you hate pokemon?" Soul asked her.

Amelia stayed quiet and didn't say anything; she didn't want anyone to know.

"Listen, I know I was a jerk when we first met but now I'm trying to be a friend to you since Ethan didn't give me a choice since he likes hanging around you. Like he said before, Pokemon are everywhere so you have to learn to live with them and that means facing your fears" Soul told her.

Amelia stayed quiet, then took a breath "When I was little I used to love going out in the field with my dad, I helped him as much as I could because I wanted to be just like him. We would go out in the grass or mountains and study the different pokemon. Then he decided to go on a boat, since he never really studied anything that lived in the water. I went with him of course and everything was going fine until…a big storm came suddenly" Amelia continued "the captain was having a hard time controlling the boat, and somehow we got into the territory of a Gyradous and with the storm it was raging and tried to destroy the boat. The Gyradous smashed the boat and sent us into the water, my dad and the captain helped me climb on a floating piece of wood. Once the Gyradoes went back underwater the storm calmed down and we were floating in the middle of the sea, luckily before we lost the boat the captain sent out a distress call and we were rescued after a few hours".

After Amelia finished speaking, she realized she was crying and wiped the tears from her cheeks and hugged her knees. She told Soul what happened to her when she was little, and why she was scared of Pokemon she felt strange telling someone since the only people that know about it are her parents.

Soul said nothing for a while and the two sat in silence, "I'm sorry you had to see pokemon in that way, but not all of them are bad" he called his Totodile to him. "When I was little I didn't much care for pokemon, I thought they were just tools but then your dad gave me Totodile and we bonded quickly. I would do anything for my partner," Soul reached out and took Amelia's hand. She looked at him surprised, he never was kind to her before why was he doing this?

Then he placed Amelia's hand on top of Totodile's head, she closed her eyes but couldn't pull away since Soul held her hand. Amelia opened her eyes and looked at Totodile who sat still and watched her curiously then the little blue pokemon smiled and Amelia smiled slightly as well.

"Hey…you're cute aren't you" Amelia said.

"You see, not all of them are bad" Soul said

Amelia smiled at him and she swore she could see a small smile coming from Soul.

Since the day at the pond, Amelia was slowly getting more comfortable around pokemon though she said she was still not ready to have one of her own. Ethan was happy that she let Cyndaquil sit on her lap one afternoon,

"That's great! Just leave him be and he'll fall asleep in a few minutes" Ethan told her trying to reassure her. Amelia watched as Cyndaquil's breathing slowed steadily and he was asleep in her lap

"Are you sure it's ok?" she asked her friend

Ethan nodded, "yup, besides this is a great way for you to get used to pokemon and I'm sure in time you'll be ready to have your own partner"

Amelia hasn't told Ethan her reasons for being scared of pokemon, the only people that know are her parents and her friend Soul.

"Where is Soul today?" Amelia asked Ethan while she watched Cyndaquil sleeping. Since today was Saturday normally the three hang out together but today Soul wasn't with them.

"He left with his aunt this morning; they went to Goldenrod City for some reason. They do it once a month, I've asked him what they do it for but he won't tell me he doesn't like talking about it" Ethan explained.

"You lived in Goldenrod before you came here right? Ethan looked at Amelia and she nodded

"What's it like? I've lived in New Bark Town my whole life so I don't really know what it's like in the big city"

Amelia thought for a moment, "Well, the buildings are a lot bigger for one, there was a bike shop and the radio tower is there too, though the one thing that wasn't the greatest is the air. It would make me really sick sometimes when I was little which is one of the reasons why my mom wanted to move out here, she figured being out in the country has better air quality so then I wouldn't get sick".

For several hours Amelia recounted her life back in Goldenrod, while Ethan listened. It made the time pass while the two friends spoke and at the same time Ethan's Cyndaquil still slept in Amelia's lap.

Then they saw a figure heading their way, they saw the red hair and instantly knew who it was and it was Soul. Ethan greeted him but didn't get a response back like normal,

"How was Goldenrod City?" Ethan asked him

Soul shrugged, showing that he would rather not talk about it at the moment

"What have you guys been up to since I've been gone?" he asked

"Just sitting up here and talking, Amelia let Cyndaquil sleep on her lap so she is getting more used to pokemon" Ethan said proudly.

Amelia blushed at the compliment, but she noticed that Soul looked troubled she wanted to ask him what was wrong but she thought it was the wrong time to ask questions. Did something happen in Goldenrod City that he wasn't telling them?


	4. A Gift

Amelia's father beamed when he heard that his daughter was slowly getting over her fear of pokemon. He didn't tell his daughter this but he started looking into getting her a pokemon of her own, he wanted to make sure he found the right one for her.

"Are you sure you aren't doing this too quickly?" his wife asked him with concern

"Don't worry dear, it will be a while before I find the right one to give to her" Professor Elm told his wife he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I am glad we moved out here with you, she seems a lot happier and she hasn't gotten sick since we've been here" Amelia's mother remembered them living in the city and she would worry about their daughter's health every day.

"I know I am glad you two are here as well, it's nice to have my family living with me instead of being several hours away" Professor Elm laughed a little but then heard the phone rang.

"Oh Bill! How have you've been?" Professor Elm was friends with the creator of the Pokemon PC system, Bill, who also lived in Goldenrod City.

"What's that? You say you've found a pokemon that Amelia could keep? What is it?" Professor Elm spoke several more words with his colleague.

He hung up the phone and looked at his wife, "Bill is sending a pokemon to my lab that he wants me to see he thinks it will be a perfect match for Lia, I've got to get going!" he said with excitement and left their house quickly.

Arriving at the lab Professor Elm's assistant greeted him and said that the transfer that came from Goldenrod City has arrived. Professor Elm held the pokeball in his hand and noticed that a sticker was on it, it was a star; marking that it was a special pokemon sleeping inside. He smiled; he hoped that whoever was in his hand that would be a perfect partner for his daughter. Though he would have to wait since she would be out shopping with her mother by now, so he put the pokeball in his pocket and went about to his work.

More than once Amelia's mom would drag her out to go shopping; her mom would try to get her to wear more dresses and skirts and today was one of those days.

Amelia followed her mother silently as she was handed clothes to try on, she did what her mom asked even though she would most likely not wear any of it. Amelia was more comfortable wearing jeans, shorts and tank-tops.

"This would look nice Amelia" her mother showed her a pink dress with flowers on it.

"Ew mom, just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I like everything in pink" Amelia said back sticking her tongue out.

Her mother sighed, "How is Ethan? And that other boy, Soul is his name right?"

Amelia nodded, "Ethan is fine, he is excited that I'm slowly getting more used to pokemon now. And Soul doesn't talk much, his aunt and him went to Goldenrod City last week but when he came back he didn't look to happy something must of happened when they were there"

"He didn't tell you why he was upset?" her mother asked

"No, he doesn't really talk about himself or his family much and whenever me or Ethan ask him about certain things he gets angry and tells us it's not our business" Amelia told her.

Her mother thought for a moment, "I'm sure in time he will, he just doesn't know that his friends care about him"

Amelia smiled at what her mom said she only hoped that Soul would trust her and Ethan enough to talk about whatever was going on that made him look troubled.

She then saw something on a clothing rack and showed her mom, "what about this?"

Her mother looked and was surprised that her daughter was holding up a white summer dress, "well that is the first time I've ever seen you pick out a dress".

Amelia and her mom went home, she helped her mother carry what they bought into the house when the phone rang, and Amelia answered since her mom was busy.

"Hey Ethan what's up?"

"Soul and I are going to have a pokemon battle; I want you to watch please?" Ethan said over the phone.

Amelia could already see him doing his begging face, so she agreed to meet them at the top of the hill that overlooked the town.

Ethan and Soul were at the top of the hill waiting for Amelia and once she arrived they were surprised that she was wearing a dress.

"Wow I've never seen you wear a dress since you moved here," Ethan said not knowing what else to say

"Does it look bad?" Amelia asked her friend

"What?! No it looks fine Amelia," Ethan looked at Soul for help but his friend stayed silent "umm, well me and Soul are going to battle Totodile and Cyndaquil we thought it would be fun if you could watch I put a blanket over there for you to sit on" Ethan said and gestured toward the tree that was familiar to Amelia. Ethan placed the blanket that she was to sit on a distance away where she could still see the battle but also a distance away where it wouldn't make her too nervous, since she was still working on trusting pokemon.

She already knew who had the type advantage, Soul's Totodile was a water type and Ethan's Cyndaquil was a fire type. She was excited though, since her father was a pokemon researcher she didn't really see a pokemon battle before in person. Her father's work consisted of observing pokemon in their natural habitat, which meant no battling.

Amelia sat quietly as Ethan released Cyndaquil and Soul did the same for his Totodile, the two started battling by telling their partners what moves to use against the other.

Amelia watched her two friends battling, but then felt a head rush come to her. She could feel something was wrong with her and it scared her, maybe she was getting sick again? No, she has been living in Littleroot for two months and everything has been going fine, what was going on?

 _"We'll win for sure! "_

"What was that voice?..." Amelia whispered to herself, she glanced up at Ethan and Soul and the two were still battling but that voice she just heard wasn't either one of them. Amelia felt the pain in head coming to her again; maybe being near the battle was a bad idea. She had to get away from it, standing up unsteady on her feet she ran into the woods that were behind the hill and went to the one place that she hoped would help.

Amelia ran to the pond that Soul showed her, while running through the woods she received several scraps and cuts on her legs while her summer dress that her mom bought her was covered in dirt and the strap broke on her right shoulder. She remembered it being quiet and that was what she wanted somewhere to collect her thoughts of what just happened. Once she found the pond she sat at the edge and put her feet in the cool water and thought about what happened. She heard a voice, and it wasn't Soul or Ethan's voice. Whatever it was, it wasn't human.

"What if…what if I just heard one of their pokemon speaking in my mind?" she asked herself out loud.

She knew it sounded crazy but it was the only explanation she could think of, she tried to think of other things of what it could have been but she kept coming back to the idea that she heard either Totodile or Cyndaquil speaking in her mind while they were battling.

Amelia wondered if she should tell her friends, but then they might think that she was going crazy. She thought about telling her parents, maybe they would know what to do or set her mind at ease and that it was nothing to worry about.

Then Amelia could hear a voice calling her name, it was Soul and he was looking for her.

"Hey there you are, we were wondering why you ran off," he said and sat next to her "Did our battle scare you?"

Soul looked at Amelia and noticed the scraps she had on her legs and her dress was covered in dirt, he didn't tell her before but he thought she looked beautiful in that dress and even though it was possibly ruined he still thought the same.

Amelia stared at the water for several minutes before speaking, "something weird happened when I watched you guys battling…I'm worried that if I tell you you'll think I'm going crazy".

Soul didn't say anything he wanted to calm Amelia down for he saw how shaken she was, he sat next to her silently not sure what to say.

But even though Soul didn't say anything Amelia went on explaining why she ran off while he and Ethen were battling their pokemon. She explained having the head rush first then hearing a strange voice in her mind, she knew it didn't belong to either of her friends so she suspected that she heard Totodile or Cyndaquil speaking.

After Amelia explained everything the two friends sat quietly, Soul breaking the silence.

"I've read about people back in ancient times having the ability to communicate with their pokemon" he told Amelia.

"I've also heard that Psychic trainers can speak to their pokemon using telepathy but it takes training for them to be good at it, so I'm not sure why what happened to you happened" Soul said to her.

Amelia stayed quiet, what he said made her feel a little better but she wondered why it happened to her, she wasn't a psychic

She looked at Soul, not saying anything but he knew she wanted comfort something to reassure her that everything was alright.

Soul thought for a moment "maybe it's a gift that was triggered when you watched our battle".

He stood up, "listen, try not to over think about it maybe it's something that can help you…maybe it's a gift that will help you talk to pokemon and make you trust them more".

Amelia hadn't thought of that, she felt more at ease with what Soul had said and stood up next to him

"Alright, I'll do my best" a small smile came on her face

"Let's get back, I'm sure Ethan is worried sick about you plus your dress is kind of ruined" Soul gestured her to follow.

Halfway walking through the woods it was getting dark, Soul let his Totodile out since he had better eye sight and Amelia grabbed onto Soul's hand so not to get separated. Soul flinched at first when she grabbed his hand but then relaxed, once the three of them got to the edge of the woods he let her hand go slightly embarrassed and not wanting Ethan to see.

Soul was right however, Ethan was worried when Amelia ran off into the woods on her own. He apologized over and over again saying it was his fault for asking her to watch the pokemon battle.

On their way home, Amelia explained her reason to Ethan that she heard a voice and she suspected it was one of their pokemon. Ethan smiled and supported Amelia telling her not to worry about it, that whatever it was it was a gift and he agreed what Soul suggested. That maybe it would help her trust pokemon more.

The two boys walked her home and explained to her parents why they were out after dark; Professor Elm also said they would have to explain to their own parents as well once they got home.

Amelia didn't tell her parents of the voice she heard, she told them that she got scared of the pokemon battle and ran into the woods which was why her dress was covered in dirt and her legs covered in scrapes.

Her parents were just happy to see their daughter safe, and after they ate dinner Professor Elm told Amelia he had something to give to her.

"So what are you giving me dad?" Amelia sat at the table in her nightclothes, waiting on what her father was about to give her.

"I know it may seem a little early, but you've been making such progress with learning to trust pokemon again. A friend of mine from Goldenrod sent this to me, and he said that this little guy would be a perfect match for you. Once you see him I want you to accept him as your partner if you feel a connection, your first pokemon is special and will always have a unique bond with their trainer" her father told her.

Amelia listened and was nervous, but she nodded to what her father told her.

Her father reached into his pocket and took out a pokeball, Amelia noticed that it had a sticker on it and it was a star.

Her father clicked the middle button on the pokeball and a pokemon burst out from a red light and was sitting on the kitchen table.

It was small and brown with a fluffly tail and long ears, and had cream colored fur around its neck.

"This little one is called Eevee," Professor Elm told his daughter "will you accept him as your partner, your first pokemon Lia?"

Amelia looked into the brown eyes of the little Eevee that sat on the table; she felt something almost a warm feeling inside her chest. Then she heard a voice in her mind, and she knew who it belonged to.

 _"Will you be my partner?"_ Eevee asked her.

Amelia picked up the brown pokemon and hugged him, "yes, yes I will"

* * *

 **Chapter 4 is up, this one was fun to do hope it turned out ok its the longest chapter so far**

 **I'm also working on a one shot of Naruto, i'm not sure if it will be any good but the idea has been bouncing in my head for a while once its finished I'll post that as well**

 **Thanks! Have a lovely week**

 **Next update for this is next Monday**


	5. Jenni

The following day Amelia woke with her Eevee sound asleep right next to her, she still wasn't used to having him around but she was glad that the little pokemon was there. She got dressed, this time she chose a light blue dress to wear to school, and lately her mom has been getting her more dresses that Amelia liked as long as they weren't pink.

Amelia gently took Eevee into her arms and went downstairs with her school bag over her shoulder, and she could smell breakfast while she walked down stairs. But to her surprise, it was her father; Professor Elm that was frying up eggs for the two of them.

"Where's mom?" Amelia asked her father while she set Eevee on the table

"I let her have some time for herself this morning, she and a couple of the other moms went to get their hair done…though I don't know if I'm cooking these right" Professor Elm looked at his daughter with an embarrassed grin and laughed. Amelia smiled and she helped her father cook the breakfast making sure he didn't burn the food or himself. The two sat and ate while Eevee was given special food to eat, Amelia watched her partner eat. She was still slightly amazed that this little brown ball of fur was her first pokemon. Since last night when her father gave her Eevee she hasn't tried speaking to him telepathically, she wondered if she should try it sometime soon.

"Are you going to name him?" her father asked interrupting her thoughts.

"Name him?" Amelia asked her father

"If you want you can give him a nickname, some trainer's do that for their pokemon but others don't it's really up to you" her father told her.

Amelia finished eating and scratched under her Eevee's chin,

"What should I call you?" she asked him

"Eevee-ee!" her partner responded and hopped on Amelia's shoulder ready to leave

Amelia clipped Eevee's pokeball to the strap of her bag then remembered the sticker that was on it; a small yellow star.

She didn't want to name him Star she felt that was a little too obvious because of his pokeball,

"How about I call you Sora?" she looked at her pokemon

 _"I like it!"_ a voice told her

Amelia was surprised she heard him speak out in her mind but smiled, she still didn't know how to use her gift but in time she felt that she would learn how to use it.

Her father nodded, "Sora, that's a good name for him. Well you should get going or you'll be late for school, hope breakfast didn't taste too terrible without your mom cooking"

Amelia smiled and said her goodbyes and telling her father that she would see him after school, she left the house with Eevee now named Sora on her shoulder.

Amelia met with Ethan, to his surprise he saw that she had a pokemon riding on her shoulder.

"Did your dad give him to you?" Ethan asked while they walked together.

Amelia nodded, "yup, I named him Sora"

"An Eevee is pretty rare, I heard that you can only find them in the wild in a different region" Ethan told her.

"I'm still trying to get used to having a pokemon with me," Amelia said and Sora nuzzled her cheek

Ethan's Cyndaquil sniffed Sora and the two started speaking to each other, the two pokemon seemed to become fast friends.

"So have you tried talking to him? Like with your gift?" Ethan asked quietly, not wanting any passing people to overhear.

"He spoke to me the first night when my dad gave him to me, and then when I gave him a nickname but those are the only times so far" Amelia explained.

While the two friends walked they found Soul and his Totodile waiting for them, he saw Amelia with Sora on her shoulder but didn't say anything.

"Amelia's dad gave her a pokemon!" Ethan said noisily

Soul nodded his approval and Amelia thought she saw him somewhat smile but she didn't say anything

While the three were walking Amelia thought she saw Soul look at her once or twice but then he would look away quickly, she smiled she adored having the two boys as friends. They helped her face her fear of pokemon and now she had one of her own.

Once they arrived at school, Ethan and Amelia went to their first class together which was English. Sora watched all of the other students from on top of Amelia's shoulder, and she could feel the excitement from him while he looked all around him.

Though sitting in class was a different matter, it took some soothing but Amelia finally got Sora to settle down while they were in class. She explained that while the teacher was talking they had to be quiet, while he sat under the desk and she took notes and listened to the lecture.

The rest of the school went by quickly for Amelia; her Science, Math, and Study of Pokemon Types went by easily since she took notes. The last class she had to go to was Study of Different Regions, she hoped that she would learn where Eevee originated from since Ethan said that you could only catch them in the wild in one specific region which was not Johto.

Soul was also in this class with her, which in turn made Amelia smile. Though he never really said much in front of Ethan or anybody else when he was alone with her he helped her several times when she needed a friend.

Amelia went to her locker to get her books for the last class, with Sora sitting on her shoulder as usual which became is normal spot Amelia noticed.

 _"Someone is coming…."_ A voice told her, and Amelia recognized it as Sora's and he didn't sound too happy.

Amelia turned around and noticed someone standing right in front of her, it was a girl and she guess that this person was a year older. This girl had long blond hair and blue eyes, she had her arms crossed in front of her chest and didn't seem like the nicest person. Amelia wasn't sure why this girl was standing in front of her, she never met her before. She noticed the girl's pokemon was on the floor, it was pink and almost looked like an ugly dog and Amelia realized that it was a Snubbal.

"Can I help you?" Amelia asked the stranger

"Hmm, you don't look all that special to have that little Eevee sitting on your shoulder" the girl said

Amelia was confused, what was this girl talking about

"Who are you? And what does it matter that my partner is an Eevee?" Amelia asked slightly annoyed

"My name is Jenni, and everyone is talking that your dad the Professor gave you that Eevee and that pokemon is rare in Johto" she said with a snob like voice.

"Yea and he is my pokemon so back off!" Amelia didn't like fighting, but whoever this Jenni was gave Amelia the feeling that she wanted to take Sora away from her. And she wouldn't let that happen.

"You look too weak to have your first pokemon, maybe you should hand him. Me and Snubbal will take good care of that little Eevee" Jenni said and attempted to take Sora from Amelia.

 _"You won't take me away from Lia!"_ Amelia heard Sora yell and headbut Jenni right in the forehead. The girl yelled and almost fell over, but her Snubbal balanced her by holding her legs.

Sora was on the floor growling at the two, and he seemed he wanted to battle Snubbal and Jenni for bullying Amelia.

 _"Let's battle them Lia!"_ Sora told her through her mind

Amelia looked at Jenni and her pokemon who were standing right across from them, Snubbal looked ready to attack while his human partner stood behind it ready to tell it what to do.

Amelia hardly had time to think when Snubbal ran at Sora, Amelia was terrified she didn't want to lose her first pokemon the one that her father gave her. The only one so far that has been speaking to her, the only one she had a connection to. Ethan was right, your first pokemon was something special you formed a connection; a bond that never broke. And Amelia wasn't going to let something like this take it away from her.

She remembered how Ethan and Soul battled, they told their partners what to do and she knew she had to do it this very moment.

"Sora dodge his attack!" Amelia told her partner, the little Eevee jumped out of the way and was barely missed by Snubbal's jaws.

"Use tackle!" Amelia commanded and Sora ran at Snubbal at full speed and hit his opponent right on.

Amelia smiled at the hit, but then Snubbal grabbed Sora using its jaws and through it against the lockers.

Amelia looked at her pokemon with concern,

 _"Are you alright Sora?"_ she asked him unsure if he could hear her

 _"…yes I'm ok"_ he answered but Amelia could tell that he was hurt badly.

"I told you were too weak to have your first pokemon, now hand him over!" Jenni and her Snubbal started walking towards Amelia and Sora. But Amelia stepped in front of her pokemon, not letting Jenni get any closer to Sora.

"You're not taking him" Amelia glared at the girl, she was unsure if Jenni would hit her or not but she didn't care.

 _"Sora, get out of here and find Soul hurry!"_ Amelia told her partner hoping that he heard her.

 _"I don't have too…he's already here Lia…look"_ Sora told her quietly obviously growing weaker

Amelia looked to her right and saw Soul standing there with his partner but it wasn't Totodile, it was the evolve form of Totodile which was Croconaw. And he wasn't alone, Ethan was with him and he had Cyndaquil on his shoulder.

The two boys approached Jenni, "you better get out of here or we'll make ya leave" Ethan told her.

Soul stayed silent and his Croconaw growled at Snubbal, Jenni glared at Amelia and then back at the two boys. She turned on her heels and left with Snubbal following right behind her.

Amelia breathed a sigh of relief then picked up Sora gently in her arms, and she tried to reach out with her mind words of comfort but got no reply. She had to heal him quickly.

"I'm going to take him to the office, they should be able to help him" Amelia told her friends and started running. Soul and Ethan looked at each other with worried expressions and they followed.

Amelia was right about taking her Eevee to the office, not only was the nurse well equipped to help sick students but she was also a former Pokemon Nurse.

"Now we'll just let him rest for a while, why don't you go talk to your friends I'm sure they are worried. I'll come get you when your pokemon is ready to leave" the nurse said and Amelia left the office and saw Ethan and Soul waiting for her.

"Amelia, how's Sora is he going to be ok?" Ethan asked with concern

She nodded, "he has a couple of scrapes but the nurse bandaged them up, he's just resting now"

"…so what happened? I was waiting for you to come into class but you never made it" Soul said.

Amelia explained everything how Jenni and her Snubbal came from behind her, but thanks to her Eevee he forewarned her that they were coming.

"How did you guys know something was wrong?" Amelia asked them

"Totodile-well now he is Crocanaw now started acting strange and kept glancing at the door, and I was already wondering where you were so I got Ethan to leave his class then we went looking for you," Soul said.

"We ran into a couple of other kids and their pokemon but we got through them easily, and that's how Soul's Totodile evolved into Croconaw" Ethan added.

"This Jenni girl shouldn't have tried to take your pokemon away from you, we should let the staff know what happened" Ethan said and Soul nodded silently.

Amelia nodded and the nurse came back and was holding a happier looking Sora much to Amelia's relief.

"You're ok! I'm so glad you're alright" Amelia hugged Sora tightly and he nuzzled her cheek back.

The nurse was about to go back into the office but Amelia caught her first,

"Excuse me, the girl that hurt my pokemon her name was Jenni" Amelia told her and explained what she looked like to the nurse. Soul and Ethan also described the ones that they battled before they reached Amelia and Sora.

The nurse looked surprised, "really? Hmm, well I have seen every student and their pokemon pass through the office more then once but I can't recall anyone your describing. Are you sure?"

Amelia nodded but again the nurse said she didn't know who she was talking about.

"I'll let the principal know what happened, but for now why don't you go home early. And your friends can go with you," the nurse looked at Soul and Ethan "Make sure she gets home safe". The boys nodded and grabbed their bags and they started leaving the building.

The three walked quietly while Amelia carried Sora in her arms, he was resting again but he seemed relaxed while he slept.

Ethan decided to let the police know what happened at the school, he ran ahead leaving Soul and Amelia.

While the two walked Soul could tell that Amelia was still upset of what had happened,

"Do you want to go to the hill? I can tell what happened today is still bothering you" he suggested

Amelia agreed and the two walked to the normal meeting spot for all of them; sitting down Amelia put Sora in her lap trying not to disturb him.

Neither of them said anything until Soul broke the silence

"I was really worried about you when you didn't come to class…" he told her

Amelia looked at him, she could tell that he was blushing slightly and seemed embarrassed for saying something like that

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you" Amelia told him

"Soul, can I ask you something," Amelia looked at him "can a pokemon die?"

Soul was surprised at such a question, but then remembered that she just got her Eevee and experienced her first pokemon battle.

He nodded, "yes, a pokemon can die. Their like any other creature, they can die from old age, or sickness and even from a battle"

Amelia looked in her lap, the sleeping Eevee that her father gave her "I was afraid I was going to lose him, Ethan was right the bond between your pokemon is strong a special connection"

Soul reached his arm around Amelia's shoulder and hugged her,

"Don't worry, I won't let you lose Sora I promise" he whispered to her.

Amelia placed her head on Soul's shoulder, "thank you".


End file.
